DOT: No Electronic Sudden Acceleration in Toyotas

Multiple Drivers Sue Toyota Over Pedal Problems

Despite the DOT's announcement clearing Toyota of electronic sudden acceleration problems, the car manufacturer is still in the crosshairs of a lawsuit filed by dozens of drivers who claim that cases of sudden unintended acceleration have caused them personal injury or financial harm due to the reduced resale values of their vehicles. Multiple lawsuits have been combined into one multi-district federal class action suit h in the U.S. District Court in Southern California.

According to court filings submitted as part of the case, Toyota company documents reveal that its own drivers were behind the wheel in two separate cases when the vehicles experienced sudden acceleration, as their owners had alleged had happened to them. One of the documents states, according to the filing, that a Toyota vehicle unexpectedly accelerated from 71 mph to 95 mph with "no pedal contact" while being evaluated by a Toyota service manager.

Toyota bought both vehicles back from their owners -- who had brought them in complaining about sudden acceleration -- and both owners say Toyota urged them not to discuss the incidents.

The document states, according to the filing, that after proceeding from a stoplight, the "tech[nician] started to lightly accelerate" and after travelling "20-30 feet the vehicle exhibited a slight hesitation and then began to accelerate on its own." Engine speed "was estimated to have gone from 1500 rpm to 5500 rpm at the time of the occurrence," according to the filing.

In another case in Milpitas, California, the owner of a 2009 Toyota Tacoma brought his truck into the Piercey Toyota dealership after complaining that the vehicle accelerated without explanation. According to the court filing, another Toyota internal document states that in July of 2009 a dealership service manager took the vehicle on an inspection drive on a nearby freeway.

"As there was no traffic in front of them, the Service Manager removed his foot from the accelerator [and]moved it completely away from the pedal area," the document states, according to the filing, and "[t]he vehicle continued to accelerate at what felt like [an estimated] 70% throttle input with no pedal contact from the driver [and] within 300 feet of the initial acceleration, the vehicle had reached 95 MPH."

The document states, according to the filing, that the floor mats were securely in place at the time of the incident and no fault codes were generated by the onboard computer and "[a]s the Service Manager who experienced the condition above is considered to be trustworthy and reliable, the vehicle will be repurchased for further investigation."

When reached by ABC News, the owner of the Tacoma confirmed that Toyota had bought the Tacoma back from him and said the dealer informed him that they were able to replicate sudden acceleration in the vehicle. The driver, who asked not to be named, told ABC News that while Toyota did not ask him to sign a confidentiality agreement they urged him not to talk about the case. According to California's vehicle Lemon Law, owners cannot be required to sign confidentiality agreements over vehicles with possible defects.